The Hawks, who had lost six of seven, played without leading scorer Josh Smith. The forward was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount for "conduct detrimental to the team" following an incident in practice Tuesday.

The loss of Smith, also the team's second-leading rebounder, left Atlanta undersized against the Nets and their 7-foot center, Brook Lopez.

Led by Teague, the Hawks adjusted by outrunning the Nets. Atlanta had a 29-12 advantage in fast-break points.

Lopez had 22 points for the Nets, who lost for only the second time in 11 games under Carlesimo. Brooklyn, playing back-to-back nights following a home win over Toronto on Tuesday, shot just 4 of 26 on 3-pointers.

"We're flat-out exhausted," Carlesimo said.

But he added that blaming the loss on fatigue was not fair to the Hawks' effort.

"They outplayed us in pretty much all the aspects of the game," Carlesimo said. "They were very, very aggressive. They really shared the ball. The ball moved very, very well."

Smith has missed three games this season, two for health reasons. Each time the Hawks managed an impressive win -- at Oklahoma City in Atlanta's second game of the season and at home over Indiana and Brooklyn.

Even so, Drew said he missed Smith.

"Tonight we were good," Drew said. "With Josh we're better. That's just the bottom line. It will be good to get Josh back. Tomorrow when Josh shows up, he will get a big hug from me."

Joe Johnson had 15 points while shooting 4 of 15 from the field in his return to Atlanta, where he played the past seven seasons. Johnson was a six-time All-Star with the Hawks but drew some boos from Atlanta fans.

"If we'd have made them pay a couple of times, then they wouldn't have double-teamed as much," Johnson said. "It seemed that we just didn't know where to be."

Teague's previous high was 27 points at Cleveland on Dec. 28, 2012.

"When shots were there, I just tried to take them with confidence, and I was able to knock some down," Teague said.

After scoring only 20 points in the first half of the loss to the Bulls, including five in the second quarter, the Hawks led the Nets 56-40 at halftime. Their 24 field goals in the half matched their total for the full game against the Bulls.

With every defensive rebound, Drew waved his right arm in windmill fashion and yelled "Let's go!" as he demanded his team push the pace. The Hawks followed his instruction, taking a 19-4 advantage in fast-break points in the first half.

"They were a very, very good team tonight without Josh," Carlesimo said. "You've got to think they're going to be a better team when they add a player of his caliber on Friday."

Notes

Hawks radio play-by-play announcer Steve Holman was honored for calling his 2,000th consecutive game. The streak, which began in 1989 and includes the regular season and playoffs, is the longest of any NBA announcer in radio or television.

Matt Kenseth, the 2012 Daytona 500 winner, attended the game to promote the Feb. 24 race.

Hawks G Anthony Morrow (sore lower back) did not play.

Nets F Gerald Wallace (bruised ribs) did not start but had four points in 15 minutes.

Copyright 2015 by STATS LLC and The Associated Press. Any commercial use or
distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and The
Associated Press is strictly prohibited.